parenting – Page 39 – Writes for all Mommies

children, family, health, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

Birthday Emergency

22/10/201222/10/2012 WFAM

Full Speed turned 8 last week. I’d like to say it was uneventful. I’d also like to say that my boys are calm. It’s just isn’t possible.

It started off fantastic. We celebrated Full Speed in a myriad of ways. We had dinner with family, cupcakes at school, presents galore and planned to head to the beach for the weekend. My personal highlight was when Full Speed’s birthday wish was, “I hope T.Puzzle’s birthday can be just as awesome as mine.”

Once we were at the beach, before we made it even out the door to the ocean, we had to make a quick detour to urgent care. T.Puzzle had a swollen ear that need to be looked at. Two hours and an antibiotic later, we were cleared for action. I have to admit, playing soccer ocean side is pretty awesome even if your skill level is questionable at best (like mine!). Both boys played with their usual intensity. You wouldn’t have thought anything was amiss. That is until we hit midnight and Mad Dog and T.Puzzle set out for a late night ER adventure (T.Puzzle developed uncontrollable chills, spiked a fever and seemed a mess). Turns out he had bronchitis to boot. The next morning he recounted crazy tales of having to pee in a cup (he thought this was ridiculously funny) and there was not one single person at CVS besides the pharmacist (imagine that! 3am isn’t a happening time for crowds).

T.Puzzle snoozes while receiving a breathing treatment in the ER.

All in all, Full Speed declared birthday number 8 as being one of the best on record (he only was sort of concerned about his brother’s health status) and T.Puzzle has made a full and quick recovery. Mad Dog and I took a little longer to recover. Thankfully, the Buckeyes pulled out a miraculous win on Saturday before we left. Otherwise, that would have been the longest ride home of my life. Go Bucks!

children, eyesight, family, health, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

Eye Am Happy That’s Over

13/10/2012 WFAM

I have come to accept that the boys’ annual dilation of their eyes is a challenging appointment. To prepare for our afternoon at the children’s clinic, I discussed with them that while eye drops are not pleasant, they are necessary for the health of their eyes. It is okay to be frustrated. However, it is not okay to scream and cry like they are on fire or to physically lash out at the poor staff member administering the drops (we have lived through both these scenarios).

When it was time for the drops, I made T.Puzzle go first. I figured he would be the most belligerent and wanted it over as quickly as possible. My instinct was right. He acted as if we were burning his eyes with acid. He cried and screamed. I had to physically restrain him while the nurse pried his clamped lids open and precariously aimed the drops in the general vicinity of his eyeballs.

Of course, Full Speed sat quietly in the corner watching this whole scene unfold. I gambled that while seeing his brother freak would be unsettling, he is old enough to reason through that eye drops don’t maim you. When it was his turn, he bravely took his drops. He tried so hard to keep still and even squeaked out a ‘thank you!’ when the nurse was done. It was the sweetest, cutest ‘thank you’ I had heard in a long while.

As a reward, I took the boys to the snack shop where we could wait out the dilation process and they could choose anything they wanted from the vending machine. As we sat at our table surrounded by Skittles and potato chips, the boys wanted to know how I thought they did. I said that Full Speed did amazing and T.Puzzle’s outburst was a bit over the top. Full Speed turned to me and said, “It’s true he did scream and cry a lot, but he didn’t try to hit the nurse when she gave him the drops. He didn’t kick her either.”

cool shades — T.Puzzle shows off his winning smile and awesome shades worn to protect his dilated eyes. He promptly took them off about two seconds later.

I couldn’t be more proud.

children, family, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

Homework’s Hidden Obstacles

10/10/2012 WFAM

I had one of those afternoons. There was so much to be done and I needed to get dinner ready. As I went through the boys’ school folders, I felt a little overwhelmed by the avalanche of fundraising packets, field trip forms, supplies needed for classroom events and homework. Soon, I gave up and delegated Full Speed to overlook T.Puzzle’s worksheets while I headed to the kitchen.

Here’s the thing, if I am going to be productive, it is extremely helpful if I’m not interrupted with a question every other second. I thought if Full Speed could field T.Puzzle’s questions, I’d be home-free. I underestimated their ability to create scenarios that required them to ask me questions. After about the fifth question (mind you, none of them so far were even homework related), I declared the kitchen a question-free zone. They fell silent in the other room so I erroneously thought they had figured things out. In the distracted back part of my mind, I began to glean bits of nervous conversation coming from our homework station in the dining room. Eventually, Full Speed dared to cross the threshold into the question-free zone. He looked like he was about to walk the plank.

“Mom, I know we are NOT supposed to ask you anymore questions but something really strange has happened in T.Puzzle’s homework folder. He only has last week’s assignments and there aren’t any new ones for him to do. What are we suppose to do?”

I was holding a spatula in my hand. Full Speed was lucky a spatula has no sharp edges. I sighed that exasperated Mom-sigh we Moms all have perfected, and marched indignantly to the dining room table. Clearly visible was T.Puzzle’s packet of new worksheets. Yep, I had brilliantly hidden his homework on the table in front of where he normally sits.

Imagine if I actually had put some time and effort into hiding them. Poor kid wouldn’t make it out of kindergarten.

children, family, kids, motherhood, parenting

End of an Era

06/10/2012 WFAM

Okay. I understand some kids don’t like to be cuddly. Even as an infant, it was clear as day, Full Speed didn’t have time to sit still and snuggle. My Mom even commented that the only way Full Speed would cuddle, was if he didn’t feel well.

T.Puzzle was a refreshing change. He loved to be held, love to give and receive smooches and generally, enjoyed hugging everyone as much as possible.

That is until he started kindergarten. Gone are the days of smooching me spontaneously. There are no more moments of snuggle time in the mornings before we start our day.

I’ll admit, this has been a difficult transition for an emotionally expressive person like myself, but I can respect it. What I can’t handle is the defiant attitude that has gone along with it.

This morning I had a sit down discussion with him. He eventually articulated that he doesn’t like to snuggle anymore (sigh). We have set new ground rules and I will not pester him to cuddle, but in return, he must receive an occasional hug and smooch from me in a gracious manner.

He agreed.

How is it my boys keep easily moving towards independence without my permission?

Then again, when have they ever asked my permission to do anything?

children, family, health, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

Tell Him Something He Doesn’t Know

01/10/2012 WFAM

Today Full Speed had an evaluation by an allergist. I have suspected that he may have some seasonal issues and frankly, if he has my DNA, odds are he might be allergic to something. Fire ants, anyone?

He was quiet as we waited for the nurse to perform his skin tests. He did not enjoy the process. He writhed about and complained vociferously as over 50 scratches of allergens were placed up and down the length of his back. Then, all we had to do was wait fifteen minutes for the results. He questioned me emphatically as to why this craziness had to be done, and I said so we could better understand how to treat him when he is sneezy.

“Once the doctor returns, he’s going to ‘read’ the marks on your back and let us know if you’re allergic to anything,” I explained.

“I already know, Mom. I’m allergic to needles,” he said. At this point he was ready to pack it up and be on his way.

Good point.

Miraculously, despite his direct genetic link to me, he was allergic to absolutely nothing (switched at birth?). Well, not including the needles.